Timeline of Alex Murdaugh murder case, as new trial ordered : NPR

Key Points:

• The South Carolina Supreme Court unanimously granted Alex Murdaugh a new trial for the 2021 murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul, citing jury tampering by Colleton County court clerk Becky Hill as undermining the fairness of the original trial.
• The court found that Hill egregiously interfered with the jury outside the knowledge of the trial judge and attorneys, compromising Murdaugh's defense and triggering a presumption of prejudice.
• Murdaugh, already serving lengthy prison sentences for financial crimes including fraud and embezzlement, maintains his innocence in the murder case, and his defense team emphasized that the retrial must exclude prejudicial evidence related to his financial misconduct.
• The original trial, which drew national attention through documentaries and podcasts, resulted in two life sentences after a short jury deliberation, despite the absence of eyewitnesses or a murder weapon and Murdaugh’s admitted lying about his alibi.
• The state Attorney General has vowed to aggressively pursue a retrial, while the court clerk involved has pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and perjury related to the case, receiving probation and community service.